The samp element is one of a large group of elements that the HTML 4 recommendation calls phrase elements. Such elements assign structural meaning to a designated portion of the document. A samp element is one that contains text that is sample output from a computer program or script. This is different from a code example, which is covered by the code element.

Browsers have free rein to determine how (or whether) to distinguish samp element content from the rest of the body element. Both Navigator and Internet Explorer elect to render the text in monospace font. Override the default with a style sheet as you see fit.

The language being used for the element's attribute values and content. A browser can use this information to assist in proper rendering of content with respect to details such as treatment of ligatures (when supported by a particular font or required by a written language), quotation marks, and hyphenation. Other applications and search engines might use this information to aid the selection of spell-checking dictionaries and the creation of indices.